Christian Action Federation of New Brunswick

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This is an excellent brief and I heartily endorse it. Implementing these recommendations will result in the best possible education and medical care for our young people.

Dr. Carolyn Barry

Fredericton, NB

Click here to download Brief in Word

A Brief to the

Departments of Education and Health

of the Province of New Brunswick

regarding the

Health Curriculum and Sexuality

by

Christian Action Federation

of New Brunswick Inc.

August 2001

Mary E. Thurrott, Executive Director - Christian Action Federation of NB Inc.

Box 3675, Station B.,   Fredericton, NB, E3A 5L7

(506-472-5399) cafnb@nbnet.nb.ca

A Case for Sexual Abstinence

A brief to the Province of NB through the departments of Education and Health

The challenge Christian Action Federation of New Brunswick Inc. wishes to present through this brief is for our province to become the leader in Canada in recognizing the potential within our youth. Each individual is of infinite value; therefore, their future must not be jeopardized by politically driven activists.

This brief will explore both "comprehensive sex" and "abstinence-only" programs. It will look at the presuppositions behind each program, review history of sex education in Canada, contemplate matters of the heart, examine important questions needing answers, consider the problems of sexually transmitted diseases, explore condom use, examine Planned Parenthood’s agenda and confront common arguments. Finally, this brief will present a case for abstinence, and make recommendations.

The National Election of the Rights of Youth held in Sept 1999, revealed the Now Generation’s primary goal was to be that of family wholeness. If the Now Generation is to achieve this goal, it needs encouragement towards making healthy choices that will effect not only today but also tomorrow. The Now Generation must be challenged to think in terms of longevity.

Educators of this Now Generation are realizing the importance of emotional learning. It is estimated, approximately 80 % of one’s character is formed through emotional learning. It is; therefore, extremely important for New Brunswick youth to learn how to place safeguards around emotional areas of their life. And what is more emotional than sex? Dr. Joe S. McIlhaney Jr. OB-GYN, says, "When sex is misused, it causes people to grow emotionally hardened as they flit from one sex partner to another." (McIlhaney, 1997, p. 15)

How are healthy emotions achieved? Advocates of "comprehensive sex programs" who encourage the use of contraceptives, believe the goals of sex education classes are to prevent pregnancies and STDs. That would work only if a condom could be made large enough to cover a broken heart. The simplistic answer of condom use can never meet the emotional character being formed daily within our youth. "Abstinence-only programs" on the other hand teach: character building, relationship education, marriage preparedness, refusal skills, action/consequence education, STD information, and parent/teen communication skills. The decision as to whether the youth of New Brunswick will realize their future dreams concerning "the family" is greatly dependent upon equipping youth in the area of making healthy emotional choices.

Presuppositions at Work

Beliefs about the origin of the universe affect attitudes concerning sex education in school. Basic presuppositions determine the direction of thought patterns.

Creation and evolution are both religious views. Evolution remains theory because it is not science. True science requires observation and (repeatable) testing. Since the world in antiquity can not be brought into a laboratory and placed under observation, we are left with assumptions concerning fossils. Evolutionists begin with the assumption, "Since there is no God, it would take millions of years to ……." The equation; however, changes dramatically with the assumption, "God’s existence is verified through the design of the universe; therefore, I believe He exists and …..." The assumption of an evolutionist is, natural processes govern the laws of the universe, and no Creator exists. The assumption of a creationist is, there is a Creator and His laws govern the universe. Both the religious positions of evolution and creation are accepted by faith.

Dr. George Wald, Professor Biology Harvard University, 1971 Nobel Prize Winner for Biology wrote in Scientific America:

"When it comes to the origin of life there are only two possibilities as to how life arose

:

• Spontaneous generation arising to evolution

• A supernatural creative act of God

….[T]here is no other possibility.. Spontaneous generation [a now discarded theory that living organisms can arise from nonlife matter] was scientifically disproved 120 years ago by Louis Pasture and others, but that just leaves us with one other possibility ….that life came as a supernatural act of creation by God, but I can’t accept that philosophically because I do not want to believe in God. Therefore, I choose to believe in that which I know is scientifically impossible, spontaneous generation leading to evolution."

By denying the existence of God, evolutionists believe they are no longer accountable to God. Man’s own ideas become his highest authority and Humankind, as the highest product of chance, crowns his own intellect as his god. Thus, man is able to establish his own value system. For evolutionists, morality is relative without standards of right and wrong. The prevailing view concerning sex before marriage, is that it is acceptable as long as the young people do it safely and responsibly.

Those who acknowledge the Creator acknowledge also His absolute authority over His creation. Creationists are under obligation to obey Him regardless of personal opinions. The three creation-based religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam), as well as Hinduism, all believe the Creator says pre-marital sex is wrong. Abstinence must be practiced until marriage.

There are; however, those who believe in a Creator who used evolution to bring the world into existence. For them, sexuality falls into two camps. One focuses on the authority of the Creator while the other focuses on the personal opinion of the individual with the authority of the Creator given little weight. One’s bias affects one’s interpretation.

Examples of how biases clash are witnessed in a report on abortion when Trudell and Whatley investigated Sex Respect: The Option of True Sexual Freedom by Colin Mast in 1986. Examining resources for recommended reading, Trudell and Whatley state, "Others are specifically antiabortion with no balance from prochoice groups." (Trudell and Whatley, 1991, p. 128).

These authors employed the terms "antiabortion" and "prochoice" to make those who oppose abortion look bad (negative) and those who promote abortion look good (positive). Why did the authors use the term "prochoice" instead of "proabortion"? A negative connotation of this practice would be associated with the term "proabortion". The use of the word "prochoice" makes it appear more positive. However, the word "prochoice" is deceptive, because Canadians who do not believe they should pay for abortions are forced to pay for them through taxes. Many Canadians are denied choice by those influenced by "prochoice" groups.

Another example of bias was revealed when Planned Parenthood of Hamilton received 51% of the budget for the sex education program in Hamilton in 1997. Blowdow (1998) reported every positive teen pregnancy test determined by Planned Parenthood that year resulted in an abortion referral. Were the taxpayers required to pay for these abortions, regardless of their convictions? Most certainly, yes.

Trudell and Whatley identified bias in the abstinence book Sex Respect which did not include "prochoice" materials to provide balance. One only has to look at the Kathy Bridge’s Sex Ed Curriculum (1991) to see that proponents of comprehensive sex education do not always provide this balance either. Referrals in the manual, include only three organizations that are clearly prolife, and the reader must find the telephone number herself (abortion organizations have the number provided). Sadly, Trudell and Whatley are unable or unwilling to see how their own bias on abortion taints their report.

Because presuppositions affect opinions, we must recognize that each of us has biased viewpoints. It is the view of Christian Action Federation of New Brunswick Inc. that the biases which encourage teenagers toward premarital sex are physically, emotionally, spiritually and psychologically damaging. Our bias is that the abstinence-only program, provides the best health care for our youth.

History of Sex Education in Canada

This summary tracing the historical progression of sex education comes primarily from Greg Cosby’s report Safe Sex Versus Abstinence-Only Education in the High Schools: An Analysis, 1999.

"All sexual activity except for procreation is immoral so ‘Don’t do it!’" was the message our youth received in the early 1900s. Parents and educators believed that information about birth control would lead to promiscuity.

In the sixties, teachers were asked, "What are the major discipline problems in school?" Their response was talking, chewing gum, and paper on the floor. In the nineties teachers were asked the identical question. Their response? Guns, bombs, knives, rape, alcohol, drugs, suicide, and violence. It should be of interest to compare how educational philosophies have also changed since the 1960s. A disturbing question needing honest examination, has the philosophical change in public education led to greater destructive behaviour patterns among NB youth? Future educational direction should be established based upon lessons learned.

The sixties brought change. Elementary students learned about anatomy, junior high learned about puberty, and high school students learned about pregnancy according to Monk (1984). None of the provinces in Canada had a sex education curriculum. It was illegal to teach students about contraceptives, including birth control and condoms, until 1969.

In 1972, the Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada recommended family life education start in kindergarten and continue through adulthood. By 1977, 21 percent of school boards had implemented family life education programs. Generally the topics were incorporated into Health, Home Economics and Psychology courses. In the 1980’s, sexual stereotyping, pornography, incest and AIDS information were introduced.

Describing The War Against the Family, in 1992, Gairdner presented another version of sex education development in Canada when he recounted how the state gradually took control of the sex education program imposing its own agenda on the Canadian public. The welfare state of Sweden has often been upheld as an exemplary model for Canada. Governments that govern from the top down (collectivism) do so because of their bias, the state knows what is best for society. The other form of government has the bias, the individual citizen knows what is best for society. As such, society’s rules generally respect the values of the majority of its citizens. This is known as a bottom up style of government (moral agency).

Sweden, the first western non-communist nation, became a "welfare state" guaranteeing certain rights such as: guaranteed income, paid sick leave, and free sex education. In regards to sex education, it should be noted that it was not the parents but rather the social engineering of the state that determined what material should be taught. Sweden’s former minister of education said, "The state is concerned with morality from a desire to change society" (p.29). Gardiner contends, "… if the welfare State can remove all traditional, sexual morality from the thinking of the people, especially through the education system, which intrudes right into the home, it can undermine all the less powerful moral precepts that otherwise make the work of the State too difficult." (Gardiner, 1992, p.29).

Changes are noted in Sweden’s sex education manuals. From 1930 -1960, "home life and its success" was emphasized but the new emphasis became "sexual intimacy" as "one of the essential goals of human existence." Gairdner quotes Swedish professor Eric Brodin, " Sex education in the schools was a necessary preparation for a society in which the family, as it was traditionally known, was to be eliminated."(Gardiner, 1992, p. 254). This clear admission of social engineering seems to be setting a similar pattern in Canada.

Although parental groups resisted, Canada switched to the contraceptive model in the 1970s disguising its efforts by changing the title of "sex education" to "family life education". Ironically, Canada’s Badgley Commission concluded as early as 1977 that sex-ed was a failure and that its findings do not lend support to usefulness of the current contraceptive and family life education programs in the schools. (Gardiner, 1992, p.255).

History shows our parents were correct. They said, information about contraceptives would lead to promiscuity. They were right (Emphasis mine)! Ontario public schools are now seeking to turn back the clock by making sexual abstinence its primary thrust. New Brunswick could become the first province in Canada to recognize the damaging consequences of placing a political agenda above the health and well being of its youth. We could regain lost ground. The safe sex message our youth deserve is not "safer sex" but rather "save sex" until marriage.

Y Y Matters of the Heart Y Y

The minds of our youth are under constant bombardment - sex, sex, sex! Is it not enough that media provides a condom centered life styles, advertisers use sex as their key to cash profits, and the music industry flames pornographic values in word and videos calling them free expression? And now, newspapers in NB are reporting a desire by some for greater exposure to sexual knowledge. And from where should our youth learn about such behaviour? Advocates of comprehensive sex believe the public school system should teach: sexual pleasure, homosexuality, orgasms, masturbation, prostitution, wet dreams, …...! How much longer can the youth of our province withstand these assaults against their mind which have the potential of destroying future dreams?

The childhood story of the Three Little Pigs, the wolf and the two kinds of building material (brick and straw) point out an important truth. Good building material is required for a home to withstand life’s difficulties. Building stones needed for a strong marriage must be carefully chosen. One very important stone which can be laid during youth is "Trust". The number one reason for sexual abstinence is one’s value system. Laying the foundation stone of trust (a value system that finds comfort in knowing my husband/wife placed the sanctity of marriage above compromise) eliminates fear and worry should a partner’s activities require he/she be away from home for extended periods of time, or in the event of health problems require sexual inactivity. Trust builds stronger marriage. Consider the consequences of jeopardized trust in the following statements:

• When couples choose to marry because of pregnancy the divorce rate is 76% (Hadland, 1992, p.34.)
• Couples who cohabit before marriage have a 50% higher divorce rate (McIlhaney, 1997, p.93)
• Statistics Canada reported over 40% of marriages end in divorce. Over 10% are legally separated and over 20% are unhappy. But couples who waited until marriage before becoming sexually active had an extremely low divorce rate. (Hadland, 1992, p.91.)

Healthy self-esteem comes from learning to guard the heart. Having sex because of curiosity, peer pressure, or a long, close relationship finally resulting in intercourse leaves many youth not feeling good about themselves. Sometimes an attempt is made to improve self worth by sharing sexual favours with another person. Sex is worth it, if it proves self worth, they think. Often, the opposite goal is achieved. Instead of building self-esteem, self-esteem is destroyed. Sex, being far more than a physical action, involves the heart. Youth need to understand that with each sexual encounter, a part of one’s inner person is given away. A repeated giving away of one’s heart results in not caring about oneself any longer. Feelings of rejection, anger, and depression, which sometimes leads to suicide, follow unrequited love. It should be noted, girls who have had an abortion are seven times more likely to attempt suicide. Like a rose whose beauty is destroyed when its petals are plucked leaving only the naked stem, so is a youthful heart who lives with sexual regrets. In learning to guard the heart, one does not ask, is it physically safe but rather is it emotionally safe.

E. Q. (emotional learning) teaches the importance of guarding the heart. The main point to remember about E.Q. is that emotional experiences are not forgotten. The 438^th time of sharing sexual intercourse will never be remembered. But the first time will always be there. Safeguarding that memory and placing it above the overshadowing emotions of guilt, fear of pregnancy, STDs, regrets, the sense of being used, curiosity, broken heart ….. is the road of sexual abstinence. Emotional scars rob dreams and consume peace. Y

Journal of Adolescent Health Care states, " "The strongest motivations for adolescent sexuality are the emotional and psychological needs to love and be loved … Often, the physical enjoyment of sex is not an important motivation, particularly among young adolescents."

Helping the Now Generation think in terms of longevity requires youth learn to guard their heart. The following are expressions of regrets from young people who did not understand the consequences:

• An 18 year old mother of a 3 year old child after listening to a talk on abstinence said, "I wish I had heard you speak 3 years ago."
• Premarital sex for one teen which led to marriage and abuse caused the following confession, "Sex before marriage for me meant, I would never know what it means to be chosen and not just lusted after. And the difference between those two has haunted me all of my life."
• "I thought the first time was going to be incredible but my shame has messed me up." Question. Have you learned from your experience? "No, I just went on to another because the standard had been broken. So why try? The payoff was zero."

With the wedding date just days away, a bride confessed, "I wish I hadn’t left so may parts of me around in other places." While speaking to a grade 10 class in New Brunswick, the bride’s quote was shared. Deep laughter came from about a half dozen boys huddled around a table. Their laughter ended abruptly; however, when questioned, "How would you like that girl to be your bride?"

Yes, it is a new millennium, the thinking of the Now Generation has changed in many ways but the gift of virginity is still a valued prize on a wedding night. It can only be given away once. Youth need to be challenged to wait for the joy of giving their gift of virginity in marriage so that it will be a night without comparisons and regrets . A guarded heart that protects emotional learning adds joy to longevity.

Empty arms, the result of STDs, has led to many empty hearts. Are moments of pleasure worth the lifetime of pain caused from infertility due to an STD or the financial cost of fixing a problem that should never have existed.

While learning to guard the heart youth need to understand that relationships built upon sexual chemistry only, break up; relationships built upon love and respect become stronger. Josh McDowell has often challenged youth to remember,

"Lust can never wait to get; love can always wait to give."

Consider the benefit of guarding the heart in light of the following quote on abortion by Dr. Carolyn Barry, Fredericton, NB, "The long term side-effects of premarital sexual activity can often make this girl or woman sterile so she can never have a baby. We know, as well, that serious psychological trauma frequently occurs for the mother following an abortion. This has been called Post Abortion Syndrome. Depression, alcoholism and drug addiction are some of the symptoms of this illness."

The following letters to Ann Landers written by a woman and a man shows how handling of premarital sexual pressure effects relationships and lives, printed October 24/85.

Woman Wrote

I met him; I liked him.

I liked him; I loved him.

I loved him; I let him.

I let him; I lost him.

Man Wrote

I saw her.

I liked her.

I loved her.

I wanted her.

I asked her.

She said no.

I married her.

After sixty years, I still have her.

- Fort Worth Texas.

Warnings against pornography need to be a part of guarding the heart. Building unrealistic visions in the minds of young men signals a death knell in many marriages. Because of youthful involvement in pornography, one man admitted, "I have been married 8 years but I have never been alone in our bedroom with my wife yet."

Ignoring the relationship between two people while concentrating only on the sex act, facilitates the destruction of the fragile side of sex. Who is dealing with consequences of the heart? Is it time for New Brunswick to take the lead in helping its youth learn how to guard their heart? Most certainly, yes.

Questions Needing Answers

In evaluating research material which indicates that parents approve sex education in schools, important questions must be asked such as: How is sex education defined? What is taught under the heading "sex education" - biological aspects or different ways of having sex, contraceptives, and where to get an abortion? Are the questions broad or narrowly defined so as to give interviewees a clear understanding of what is being asked? Do the biases of the researcher show balance in the questions?

Example of a clear question:

Choose which statement you agree with:

• Parents have the primary role of being sex educators to their children.
• The state has the primary role of being sex educators to its students.

Examples of possibly biased questions:

• Could there be a conflict of interest between the sponsor of the questionnaire and the research results? [For example, a condom manufacturer sponsoring the research.]
• How extensive was the questionnaire?
• Was any segment of the population excluded?
• Is the survey available for examination?

One may ask why are such questions necessary? The following illustration will reveal the answer. A dispute surfaced in the United States in regard to sex education in schools. Following a survey, Planned Parenthood reported with the figures 57% in favour of sex education and 19% in favour of abstinence. At that time, according to Peter Brandt of the National Coalition for Abstinence Education, Planned Parenthood refused to release the methodology and the wording of the questions to NCAE (NCAE1997). Later, it was determined that the hero of reproductive health, Planned Parenthood itself, had designed the survey. Words such as "anti-choice" and "extremists" were used to describe those whose bias was different from theirs. The clincher comes in discovering that the recipients of the questionnaire were members on their own mailing list. Naturally, mailing lists reflect people who generally fund and hold the same ideology. Political motives are especially revealed in regard to abortion. (See Appendices).

Greg Cosby suggests the following questions be asked regarding sex education and the values teens are being taught:

• Are teens taught to respect others whose conviction differ from theirs?
• Are they taught it is okay to have pre-marital sex?
• Are they expected to be modest about sexuality, or are they expected to be open about discussing it?
• Are they shown how condoms work including using a banana for a model?
• Do they have the right to disagree without being labeled "intolerant"?
• Are they encouraged to discuss sexuality with their parents?
• Are they encouraged to respect parental values or to challenge them?
• Are boys encouraged towards the use of condoms or to abstain?
• Are girls taught about contraception or obtaining abortions without parental consent?
• Is value clarification based upon the atheistic, evolutionary model being evidenced in its bias of moral relativism?

Consider this statement:

Advocates of abstinence-only programs need to ask:

• Does withholding information about experimentation promote experimentation?
• Do they realize many teens are going to have sex anyway?
• Do programs look down on teens who engage in pre-martial sex?
• Is the information about the reliability of contraceptives reliable or misleading?
• Is abstinence-only built on fear-mongering?

Author and OB-GYN, Dr. Joe S. McIlhaney Jr. encourages youth to think with longevity by asking young patients questions such as :

• Do you want to eventually be married to a man who is tender toward you because he honestly cares about you?
• Do you want to have children with him?

Donovan (1998) reported many of the 44% of youth (15-19 years) who are sexually active admitted to not using condoms. Among the sexually active, 47% of boys and 32% of girls had in the previous year two or more partners. Alarming to say the least. The question must be asked, how are monogamous relationships or platonic friendships without sexual intercourse being promoted in sex education classes?

99% of teenage girls (15-19 years) knew about contraceptives and condoms as a form of birth control in 1993 (Canadian Contraception 1995). Surpassing the knowledge of older women with respect to condoms, sponges and spermicides; teens revealed the results of teaching methods in schools. But have the lessons really been learned? Has accumulated knowledge affected behaviour? Are we satisfied with the direction in which we are presently headed? What course of action needs to be applied to accomplish future improvements?

Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Condom Use

When it comes to STDs, although one may think they are having sexual intercourse with just one person, they may in fact be having sex with over a hundred people. When it comes to STD, the participant in sexual intercourse is also having sex with everyone their partner has had sex with and their partner and their partner and their …….. That is the way STDs spread.

Sue Johanson, a Toronto sex educator, noted teens know all about "safer sex" but knowledge has not transferred into practice because of low self-esteem, trusting partners, or thinking they are invincible. Fear of ridicule, spoiling the mood, cheapening the relationship, causing misunderstanding, ….. are all contributing factors. Johanson’s solution to the problem is greater accessibility of condoms. Her suggestions include: parents supplying them, condom machines in schools and "schools should hand out condoms when they teach sex education and also teach teens how to say no to unsafe sex" (Bohuslawsky, 1993). It should be noted, the solution to unsafe sex by this sex educator is more condoms and not abstinence (Emphasis mine).

Contrasting Sue Johanson’s ideology, Dr. Joe McIlhaney (p. 40), states, "The answer to avoiding HPV is not condoms. Condoms give almost no protection against HPV. It is a skin-to-skin disease that has no reliable prevention-except one: abstinence until marriage."

Only two common sexually transmitted diseases were known in the 1960’s, they were gonorrhea and syphilis. Today there are over 30. The Now Generation is characterized as being in an STD epidemic era. The following descriptions apply:

•  
  • In the United States, STDs accounted for 87 % of all cases among the top ten reported infections in 1995.
  • In 1996, five of the top ten infectious diseases were STDs, including the top four - chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV and syphilis (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 1996).
  • The National Post reported a major Canadian study found that 1 in 5 women between the ages of 15-24 have human papilloma virus (HPV), thought to cause over 90% of cervical cancer. Condoms do little to protect against common STD.

•  
  • "Chlamydia lives inside cells and is half bacteria and half virus. About 70 percent of the people who carry chlamydia have no symptoms.
  • Herpes is terribly infectious. Approximately one-third of unmarried sexually active people have contracted herpes by the age of thirty.
  • When syphilis reaches the late stage, devastation, irreversible medical problems may emerge in almost any part of the body.

HIV/AIDS, chlamydia, genital warts, herpes, gonorrhea, syphilis, hepatitis B, vaginitis, mucopurulent cervicitus, non-gonococcal urethritis, bowel infections, lice and scabies are some of today’s prevalent STDs (Safer Sex Is For Everyone, 1994). Viral STDs such as: herpes, HIV and HPV have no cure. Chlamydia and gonorrhea, as well as other infections, are treated with antibiotics but leave scars that can lead to infertility. Medical Institute, 1999 reported certain strains of gonorrhea are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics.

Richardson et al. (1997) identified adolescents as the age group most affected by chlamydia and gonorrhea which are associated with pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, ectopic pregnancies and pregnancy complications.

Promoters of comprehensive safer sex programs frequently say reducing the risk of STDs requires condoms be used consistently and correctly. Just what do they mean by "consistently " and "correctly"? According to The Centers of Disease Control (1997), Consistently means using condoms 100% of the time - no exceptions. "Correctly" means following the seven steps:

1. Use a new latex condom every time you have sex.
2. Put the condom on before any sexual contact occurs.
3. Squeeze the tip of the condom while placing the condom on the erect penis. If air is trapped in the tip of the condom, it could break during intercourse.
4. Unroll the condom all the way to the bottom of the erect penis while still holding the tip.
5. Leave space at the tip of the condom for the semen.
6. Use a water-based lubricant. Do not use oil-based lubricants such as petroleum jellies, hand or body lotion or whipped cream, because they weaken the condom. If in doubt, check the label to ensure that the lubricant is water-based.
7. Heat and friction damage condoms. Store them in a safe and accessible place such as a purse, shirt or jacket pocket. Do not keep them in a wallet, back pocket, or glove compartment. (Safer Sex for Everyone, 1994)

"STD germs are extremely potent and can cause permanent damage. Even one unwise sexual encounter can change your life forever." (McIlhaney p.21) Just one slip, just one break, just one condom stored in a wallet could result in a lifetime incurable disease. Other factors determining the effectiveness of condoms are: condom brand, age, storage conditions, users age, condom experience, and marital status.

Trussell et al. 1992, reported a study where 405 condoms were tested. Breakage and slippage resulted in 15.1% failure. This same study included 68 monogamous, couples, experienced condom users. During the study 32% experienced at least one condom break or slippage.

Investigating the effectiveness of condoms, Carey et al. 1992 found as many as 29 of the 89 condoms tested leaked HIV-sized particles. The risk of leakage could not conclusively be determined because motion was not incorporated into the test. Condoms have 50-micron pores; HIV organism is .1 micron.

Between 1987 and 1990, Health and Welfare Canada routinely conducted tests on condom effectiveness revealing a 40% failure rate based on pressure, volume and leakage. In 1991, the failure rate was 28%. (Gairdner, 1992, p. 261).

Startling revelations in an analysis of literature are reported by Weller (1993) concerning the effectiveness of condoms. She reported, too few observations to accurately estimate failure rate and inadequate steps to control bias. In addition, she says these reports are "outside of the scientific peer-review process and appear only as ‘correspondence’ or ‘letters to the editor’ in scientific journals." Weller determined an estimated 69% risk reduction due to condom use.

Dr. Maria Crenshaw, past president of the American Association of Sex Educators, questioned 800 sexologists at the World Congress of Sexology on June 19, 1987. "If you had available the partner of your dreams and knew that person carried the [HIV] virus - would you rely on a condom for protection?" Not a single person raised their hand. Dr. Crenshaw accused the members in the audience of giving irresponsible advice to youth (Gairdner, 1992, p.261). Will New Brunswick educators continue to give irresponsible advice or will they promote the safest sex - abstinence?

Examining Planned Parenthood’s Agenda

American Birth Control League later known as Planned Parenthood was founded by Margaret Sanger in the early 1920s. In her paper The Woman Rebel, Sanger expresses her militant, radical thought, "the marriage bed is the most degrading influence of the social order … a decadent institution, a reactionary development of the sex instinct."

Sanger wrote about eugenics in her later publication, The Birth Control Review. Eugenics is the science of weeding out the unfit members of a species.

In 1921, The Review carrying the masthead "Birth Control: To Create a Race of Thoroughbreds" instructs its readers, "Birth Control is thus the entering wedge for the Eugenic educator … the unbalance between the birth rate of the "unfit" and the "fit" admittedly the greatest present menace to civilization … The most urgent problem today is how to limit and discourage the over-fertility of the mentally and physically defective." Ibid.

In 1942 with the exposure of the atrocities of the Nazi program during World War II, Sanger, in a public image shift, renamed her organization Planned Parenthood Federation of America. This new name was chosen to combat the unmasking of her radical ideas and to give a positive, upbeat and enhancing image of the strengthening of the family. Following the war, Sanger targeted family and patriotic values. Only one of Sanger’s primary goals was realized by the time of her death in 1966 - the legalization of abortion on demand.

Today "Planned Parenthood is dedicated to the principle that every individual has the fundamental right to (become) a parent by choice, not by chance." (Planned Parenthood Federation of America, 1990). That means, PPFA supports abortion on demand for any individual, at any age, for any reason, and without restrictions.

Quoting Pamela Maraldo upon becoming President of Planned Parenthood:

"My challenge will be different in that we need a new agenda and to address the crisis of values in America. Now that the threat to reproductive rights isn’t so urgent, we will be able to redefine the social fabric to alleviate conditions that lead to abortion in the first place." (Washington Post, 1993).

Reproductive rights! And at such a cost! Now a new agenda to redefine the social fabric, where will it lead? Considering the behavioural changes in our youth from the 1960s up to the present, the result of this ideology, the question must be asked, " Is this the best continuing path for the youth of New Brunswick?" Are our youth not worth the effort required to redirect their footsteps to the healthiest path?

Recommended Reading on Planned Parenthood:

Robert Marshall and Charles Donovan, Blessed Are the Barren: the Social Policy of Planned Parenthood (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1991)

George Grant, Grand Illusions: The Legacy of Planned Parenthood (Brentwood: Wolgemuth & Hyatt, Publishers, Inc., 1988)

Confronting Common Arguments

Promoters of the "comprehensive sex education programs" such as Planned Parenthood hold a philosophical monopoly in our public schools. Behind their liberal ideas is a framework of thinking that says, as long as sex is consensual and protected from unwanted pregnancies and is relatively safe from infection by sexually transmitted diseases, it is a good thing.

In a booklet entitled "Take Twelve - The Truth About Abstinence Education", Focus on the Family has identified the following common distortions and has offered the following summarized rebuttals. For more complete answers to objections raised in the teaching of abstinence check out: www.fotf.org/cforum/research/papers/a0015156.html .

Distortion #1: If the public can be convinced that all, or nearly all, teens "are doing it", then we need to provide comprehensive sex education and contraceptives - especially condoms to all teens.

Response: the fact is not all teens "are doing it."

Never had sex (grades 9 -12) ------------------------- 50.1%

Will graduate as virgins ------------------------ 35.1%

Sexually experienced but currently abstinent -------- 13.6%

Currently sexually active ------------------------------ 36.3%

Never had sex or currently abstinent------------------- 63.6%

Source: Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, CDC. Vol. 49, No. SS-5, June 9, 2000

Claiming that the vast majority of our youth are unable to abstain from risky behaviour and therefore need risk reduction measures, places our youth on the same level as animals. It does not give our future potential, our youth, much credit for being able to think rationally.

Comparisons of Teen Sexual Behaviour to Other Risk Behaviours (grades 9 - 12)

Sexually active - past 30 days ------------------------------ 36.3%

Rode with driver who has been drinking - past 3 months ------ 33.1%

In physical fight - past year ---------------------------- 35.7%

Current cigarette use -------------------------------------------------- 34.8%

Marijuana use - past 30 days ------------------------------------- 26.7%

Alcohol use past 30 days ---------------------------------- 50.0%

Episodic heavy drinking - 30 days ------------------------------------31.5%

Source: Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, CDC. Vol. 49, No. SS-5, June 9, 2000

Considering responses from the medical community and the public in regard to the above named risky behaviour and risk reduction strategy, the safe-sex message gives an inconsistent picture. The message in regard to tobacco, alcohol, and drugs is "don’t do it", "avoid the risk." Why isn’t the message to our youth relating to the potential dangers of promiscuous sexual behaviour consistent with the message offered highlighting the dangers of tobacco, alcohol and drugs?

Distortion #2: The current downward trends in teen birth rates are 80% due to contraceptive use and 20 % due to abstinence.

Response: " I don’t know of any honest researcher who will be able to answer your question (about what is driving the declines), reported Child Trend’s Kristen Moore in the October 1998 Guttmacher Report. But still, the "80/20" myth continued.

Dr. Jacqueline Derrochvice president of AGI is quoted as saying, "About 20% of the decrease since the late 1980’s is because of decreased sexual activity, and 80% of the decreases because of more effective contraceptive use." However, The Consortium of State Physicians Resources Council concluded in a 1999 report, "The evidence points to sexual abstinence, not increased contraceptive use, as the primary reason for the decline in teen pregnancy and birth rates throughout the 1990s."

Distortion #3: Condoms protect against unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.

Response: While propagating a distortion keeps the sexual revolution alive, our kids are unnecessarily contracting health destroying and deadly STDs. How effective are condoms? Condom failure rate during the first 12 months of use among females is as high as 22.5% Fue et al. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) says that condoms must, without exception, be used 100% of the time, otherwise they offer little protection.

Although the condom industry boasts a 98% efficiency rate, the fine print reveals this figure is based upon laboratory testing and not teenage humans. In a one month study, adults who were considered to be more responsible and who were consistent users of condoms experienced a 33% exposure risk to infection and pregnancy.

"Generally, the condom effectiveness at preventing HIV transmissions is estimated to be 87% effective, but it may be as low as 60% or as high as 96%," according to a study by Davis and Weller published in Family Planning Perspectives (Dec.1999). Better than no protection, true. But which is better, reduced risk or no risk when it comes to this deadly disease?

The National Cancer Institute has stated, "Condoms are ineffective against HPV (Human papillomavirus), the leading cause of cervical cancer. Furthermore, the National Post reported - in Canada, the year 2000, 1 in 5 girls between the ages of 15 - 24 have HPV. Condoms are also only marginally effective against chlamydia and herpes simplex 2 (HSV2). It must be noted that the three most prevalent STDs are - HPV, chlamydia and HSV2.

Distortion #4 Abstinence programs narrowly focus on one message, while comprehensive sex-ed programs are "multi-faceted" in their approach to reaching youth.

Response: Reality lays in the examination of the two programs. Comprehensive sex programs relate teen vulnerability and consequences, followed by the six principles of condom use. The abstinence programs teach: character building, relationship education, marriage preparedness, refusal skills, action/consequence education, STD information, and parent/teen communication skills.

Distortion #5: Not relevant to Canada. Relates to American Congress and finances.

Distortion #6: Teen pregnancy and STD rates would decline if we would provide teens easy, free and confidential access to condoms in schools.

Response: What rational! Teaching kids about the dangers of unprotected sex while at the same time providing condoms supposedly to lead to sexual utopia!

An article published in Family Planning Perspective cited a number of studies in which James Jaccard, Patricia J. Dittus and Vivian Gordon reported, "As adolescent perceptions of mother’s emphasis on abstinence increased, the likelihood that the adolescent had engaged in intercourse decreased. In contrast, as reported discussions about birth control increased, the likelihood that the adolescent had initiated intercourse also increased."

Distortion #7: The Alliance (a coalition of liberal sex education groups) wants parents to play a central role in the children’s sex education.

Response: Yes, parents have the primary role of being sex educators to their children. However, closer examination reveals a secretive direction. Janet S. St. Lawrence, in Training Manual for Becoming A Responsible Teen (BART) pp. 21,22 and Jemmott et al in Training Manual Be Proud! Be Responsible! p.27 include contracts requesting students to keep everything written or said in class confidential. Breaking confidentiality results in a removal from the program. It would appear, parental involvement is invited only if parents agree with the "Safe-sex" agenda.

Distortion #8: Abstinence programs have been proven ineffective.

Response: On September 10, 1997, the most extensive study on adolescent risk ever conducted was published in JAMA. The National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health [Add Health] revealed that a pledge to sexual purity was the strongest factor leading to the delay of sexual activity. True Love Waits, an abstinence program used in schools and church youth groups, has as its cornerstone - a pledge to sexual purity. The pledge to abstinence was three times more strongly associated with delayed sexual activity than the next most positive factor.

Distortion #9: Comprehensive sex education has been proven effective.

Response: Although intending to be supportive of the "safe-sex" program, the American Medical Association’s Council on Scientific Affairs Report 7 - 1 - 99 (CSA 7 - 1 - 99) reported the following results.

• "Evaluation findings on the effectiveness of safer sex interventions to delay the initiation of intercourse and reduce unprotected sex are inconsistent but continue to show increasing promise."

• "Others have found no effect of safer sex curricula on the use of birth control among sexually active students."

• "Although these results are encouraging, no statistically significant differences were identified in the incidence of sexual initiation between students who participated in the Safer Choices program and those in the comparison schools."

• "A condom available program may not always lead to increase in condom use."

Douglas Kirby is quoted most frequently promoting "safe-sex programs" while declaring the ineffectiveness of character based abstinence programs. Yet, this same Douglas Kirby is quoted as saying, "It may actually be easier to delay the onset of intercourse than to increase contraceptive use." (Kirby, D. et al)

Dr. Trevor Stammers published the following observations in the Postgraduate Medical Journal of the British Medical Association :

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  • Teens who reported using condoms the first time they had sexual intercourse were more likely to become pregnant.

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  • The percentage of 16 years olds who were sexually active actually was higher after their participation in a three-year condom distribution program.

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  • "Over the past 20 years, the primary message in sex education has been ‘use contraception.’ The approach has clearly failed."

The results of a study published in The Journal of Political Economy showed the following conclusions:

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  • " Prior enrollment in sex education was associated with a higher hazard rate into sexual activity for females …"

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  • "Sex education in the preteen years might have led to the significant increases in female sexual activity and pregnancy in the early and middle teenage years."

The Lancet, a prestigious journal reported the following:

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  • "It is hard to show that condom promotion has had any effect on HIV epidemics."

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  • [A} "vigorous condom-promotion policy could increase rather than decrease unprotected sexual exposure, if it has the unintended effect of encouraging greater sexual activity."

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  • Increased condom use will increase the number of transmissions that result in condom failure [and could] reflect decisions of individuals to switch from inherently safer strategies of partner selection of fewer partners to the riskier strategy of developing or maintaining higher rates of partner change plus reliance on condoms."

Planned Parenthood Federation of America chose not to publish their controversial findings obtained from a national poll conducted by Louis Harris and Associates in 1986.

• Teens who had comprehensive sex education at school were 54 percent more likely to have had sex than teens with no sex education and 65 percent more likely to have had sex than teens who had abstinence-focused education.

• Sexually experienced teens who had comprehensive sex education at school were 22 percent less likely to use birth control than sexually experienced teens who had no sex education and 24 percent less likely usually to use birth control than sexually experienced teens who had abstinence-focused education.

Distortion #10: Abstinence until marriage is a religious idea and constitutes a violation of the separation of church and state.

Response: While every major religion strongly opposes sex outside marriage, it is not exclusive to religious thought. As well, it should be noted the benefits of following a monogamous life style are not exclusive to people of faith. Fidelity before and within marriage is the strongest defense against the ravages of the sexual revolution in this STD epidemic era. The summary of one study stated, "One of the most consistent observations in health research is that the married enjoy better health than those of other relational statuses."

The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth reported, children of parents who are not married will, on average, spend in poverty 51% of their lifetime. By way of contrast, children whose parents are married and stay married will spend, on average, 7% of their lifetime in poverty.

Far more than religious beliefs, the results of sexual abstinence until marriage reveal physical, emotional and economic betterment.

Distortion # 11: Surveys confirm that the majority of parents support comprehensive sexuality education in schools.

Response: The crux of the matter is, do parents support the teaching of comprehensive sex.? Biased questions, lack of clarity in wording, political motives, targeted responses, omission of clarifying questions, conflict of interest between polls and sponsors, ….. have all added to the picture to make it appear that the majority want comprehensive sex taught their children.

A sample question from Planned Parenthood Federation of America asks,

1. Preventing STDs
2. Education about birth control methods
3. Having healthy relationships
4. Teaching abstinence

The cover-over catch phrase "sexuality education" which really means "safe sex." is kept secret. Furthermore, why is the choice of sexual abstinence the last option, (D)? Respondents are directed away from choosing D by the very framing of the question. Even if a respondent favoured teaching abstinence, it would be difficult to overlook choice C. Healthy relationships sound good but what exactly is covered is not clear.

What is even more alarming is the survey was sent to Planned Parenthood financial supporters! With the most frequent response being "[h]aving healthy relationships," Planned Parenthood used the results to say, "a strong majority of Americans prefer to see responsible sex education for school students over programs that simply advocate abstinence."

By stark contrast, an unbiased, direct question asked in 1994, USA Weekend inquired, "Should public schools make condoms available to students?" 75% of the nearly 10,000 respondents said, "No, never."

Distortion #12: Abstinence programs are fear-based and medically inaccurate.

Response: Instead of fearing truth, would it not be a wiser response to accept truth as a teacher? Is it fear-based to tell teens that condoms provide little or no protection from certain STDs? Is it fear or truth that tells teens of the social and economic costs of adolescent pregnancy?

Condemning abstinence on the basis of fear assumes there is never a place for legitimate fear. History shows that previous generations have avoided various risky behaviour for fear of the consequence. Is fear not a healthy emotion when it is used to eliminates a potentially greater danger. Fear provides a healthy respect for the consequences of bad decisions.

Safe sex advocates oppose telling kids the fearful facts about condom ineffectiveness against certain STDs for fear they will not use condoms thereby forfeiting (relative) protection. They believe some protection against some diseases is better than no protection against many diseases. The truth, complete protection against all diseases is the best course, and that is what abstinence is all about.

Endnotes Summary Take Twelve - The Truth About Abstinence Education.

An Abstinence-only Message Needed In These Times

When planning curriculum for young people, it is important to understand the times in which we live and the effect these times are having on our youth.

Many young people, unable to cope with emotional and social problems such as: family breakup, the transient nature of life, stress, uncertainties about the future, … are swept away with the media’s casual sex and free love images. Since consequences are only dealt with in real life and not the media, emotional problems continue to attack the unguarded heart.

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  • The Early Window: Effects of Television on Children and Youth estimates that the average person views approximately 9,230 sex acts or implied sex acts on TV each year (p. 254).

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  • A Study of Growth Strategies for Junior Achievement reveals that media (TV, radio, movies) rank third, behind peers and parents, in influencing the values and behaviour of teens. This represents a dramatic shift since 1960 when media ranked eighth behind such factors as: teachers, relatives, and religious leaders (p.253)

Without the benefit of experience, many young people develop a very distorted view of self worth by comparing themselves to the latest standards. The standard by which life is measured shapes character. An emphasis on individual rights has helped augment the shaping of a "me culture" preoccupied with the number one priority - self gratification.

Josh McDowell, author and national leader in the US for encouraging youth to make commitments to sexual abstinence until marriage, reports the following reasons teens become sexually active in Why Wait?

Physical Reasons:

• Wanting more and more physical activity to reach the same level of pleasure
• Early dating
• Natural thing to do
• Feels good
• Releases tension
• Provides thrills
• Way to have a child

Environmental Reasons:

• Lack of moral standings
• Lack of information about sex
• Broken homes
• Lack of understanding about love
• Peer pressure
• Media
• Alcohol and drugs
• Easy access to birth control

Psychological Reasons:

• Search for security and self esteem
• Search for intimacy
• Escape from relational problems
• Way to be popular
• Curiosity
• Prove one’s love
• Passage shown form childhood to adulthood

Emotional Reasons:

• Need to love and to be loved
• Loneliness
• Fear of rejection, missing out, not getting married
• Pressure from boyfriend or girlfriend
• Rebellion

Josh McDowell goes on to elaborate the following - Reasons to Wait:

Protection:

• of total health
• from addiction to premarital sex
• from STDs
• from unwanted pregnancies and abortion
• from being put on a performance basis
• from guilt
• from misleading feelings
• from hardships of breaking up
• from psychological and emotional distress
• of self esteem
• from communication breakdowns
• from difficult courtships
• from involuntary comparison of sex partners
• from sex becoming downward and burying love
• from damaged family relationships

Provisions for the:

• beauty and special relationship found only in marriage
• maturity of patience and discipline
• respect for one’s body
• affirmation of dignity
• only one first time

Free sex, sex without obligation, always comes with a high price tag - physically, emotionally, psychology and spiritually. Prices paid for promiscuity include:

• Governments pay thousands of dollars in medical and welfare costs for early teens who have a child.

• Many infants are born with birth defects caused by STDs and many die as a result of abortion.

• A teenage mother’s chances of finishing school and obtaining a good job are greatly jeopardized.

• There is a great mental and emotional price for promiscuity

It is interesting to note in South African countries where 8.5 million people are infected with the HIV virus, "Abstinence" has become the first word in Cape Town’s government’s ABC acronym .

Abstinence-only programs are sometimes criticized because their effectiveness has not been documented. Jones yet al., (1999) contends this criticism is based more on philosophical differences than on an objective consideration of the facts.

Making Recommendations

Is it not time to begin stemming the tide of destruction that has been constantly buffeting the minds of NB youth? If we are going to help the youth of New Brunswick move beyond the Now Generation mentality and begin to think in terms of longevity, changes to the present mindset need to be introduced. The question, can it be done?, must be quickly followed with the question, are our youth worth the enormous effort required? If you agree they are, then selling a healthy life style is the challenge we face. It can be done!

We can blitz through public education announcements and education curriculum the mindset of our youth with the message,

it is cool to wait!

while at the same time teach character building. We can help them understand, "Lust can never wait to get but love can always wait to give," (Josh McDowell).

"We should explain to children that sex is tied to the deepest recesses of the personality. We should tell the truth; we should describe reality. We should explain that sex involves complicated feelings and emotions. Some of these are ennobling, and some of them–let us be truthful-can be cheapening of one’s own finer impulses and cheapening to others." (US Secretary of Education William Bennett, National School Board Association,1987).

Most young people want to be able to communicate the message, you are special to me, without a sexual relationship. They need to be taught:

• how to express intimacy without sex
• creative ideas about dating that are fun and eliminate potential problems
• benefits of abstinence - emotionally, psychologically, socially, intellectually and physically
• to see each human person as a whole being--intellectual, ethical, physical, spiritual, social and emotional and how each area is impacted by the sexual decision-making process
• to set aside the physical and focus on building relationships
• about healthy relationships and "unconditional love"
• setting standards before frustration and hurt feelings occur
• to communicate openly about sexual limits and values
• to build accountability into dating
• to set date goals to honour each other’s dignity
• ways we communicate-conversation, body language, clothing
• risk elimination not risk reduction
• cessation and refusal skills
• how to cope with peer pressure
• analytical thought that evaluates values in media and music
• clues to distinguish infatuation from love
• date only those with same convictions
• the truth about STDs
• regaining sexual self-control strengthens E. Q.
• seek wisdom of good role models

Parental involvement, whenever possible, should be used to offset risk behaviour. The most important predictor of sexual activity is the stability of the family, according to the Journal of Youth and Adolescence October issue 1987.

If our youth were devoid of the capacity to make wise choices when given truthful facts and if our youth could only respond to basic animal instincts, then condoms would make sense. However, our youth in New Brunswick are capable of analytical thought and decisive actions; therefore, the onus is on the educational and health system of NB to help our youth achieve their number one priority goal - family wholeness.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

American Medical Association Council on Scientific Affairs Report 7, January 1999

Bibby,R.W. & Posterski, D.C. Teen Trends, Toronto: Stoddart Publishing Co. Ltd., 1992.

Carey, R.F., Herman, W.A., Retta, S.M., Rinaldi, J.E., Herman, B.A. & Athey, T.W’

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (September 1996) "Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance", Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 1995.

Donovan, C. "AIDS: Focus on Youth", Canadian Journal of Public Health,89,365., 1998

Gairdner, W.D., The War Against the Family. Toronto: Stoddart Publishing Co., 1992.

Guttmacher Report (The), Volume 1, No. 5, October 1998.

Hadland, Beverly J., Hang on to your Hormones - Straight Talk on Sex, Love &

Dating. Life Cycle Books Ltd., Toronto, 1992.

Jones, J.M., Toffler,W., Bell, R., Mohn, J.K., Kelton, G., Weeldreyer, R., Wallis, H.,

Safer Sex is for Everyone, Ottawa-Carleton Health Department , 1997.

Stammers, Trevor. M.D., "Sexual Spin," Postgraduate Medical Journal, 1999.

Trudell, B.& Whatley, M. "Sex Respect: A Problematic Public School Sexuality

Curriculum", Journal of Sex Education & Therapy, 1997, p.17, 125-140.

Trussell, J., Warner, D.L. & Hatcher,R.A., "Condom Slippage and Breakage Rates", .

Family Planning Perspectives, 24, 1992, p. 20-23.

USA Weekend, January 7-9, 1994, p.11.

Wald, George, Frontiers of Modern Biology in Theories of Origin of Life, Houghton Mifflin, New York, 1972, p. 187

Weller, S.C. A Meta-"Analysis of Condom Effectiveness in Reducing Sexually

Transmitted HIV", Soc.Sci.Med., 1993, p.36,1635-1644.